Life as we know it
by Izzy713
Summary: Quinn and Puck haven't spoken to each other in years, after putting their daughter up for adoption they both went their separate ways only seeing each other in glee club, now after graduating high school tragedy strikes meaning they must come together for the one thing they have in common, Beth. Based off the movie Life as we know it
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note- So i have previously had the exact same story but i deleted it because it was trash lol, so anyway i am going to rewrite it and hopefully the second time is the charm. **

Everything had been normal that day for both of us

Us both living our own separate lives

One in Connecticut, studying at Yale. Another living the life in L.A.

But none of that mattered anymore

Not after we got the call

Everything changed when we got that phone call

* * *

**Quinn's POV**

I walk through my dorm room and find my roommate absent for yet another night, probably out with her boyfriend again. It looks like i have the room all to myself tonight, I make myself a snack and lay down on my bed and try to relax the best that i could, we had finally finished our last week of exams and they were a bitch, i deserved this break. I made myself comfortable and only close my eyes for a second.

bring

bring

bring

I shoot up out of bed and navigate through the dark room, looking for not only the light switch but my cell phone that is currently ringing. I finally find it and pick it up, the dull glow illuminating the dark room. I look and see that it is an unidentified number, it could be a wrong number, but it could also be important. I answer

"Hello" a woman's on the other end of the line replies

"Is this Quinn Fabray?"

"Yes this is she, may i ask who this is?"

"This is Linda Smith, i work at the Lima Ohio police department, i am sorry to say that Shelby Corcoran has been in a car accident and died" there is a long pause, tears come to my eyes immediately because there would be no other reason to call me unless Beth was involved. "Ms Fabray are you still there?" i realize that i haven't spoken in over a minute

"Yes i am still here, was there a baby in the car with her?"

"No there was not, that's why we have called you, she wrote you down as her in case of emergency contacts, we have the baby and we are going to need you to come and take her into your custody until we can figure everything out . if my information is correct you are the biological mother of Beth Corcoran, is that correct?"

"Yes, im her mother, how late is your office open for, i am currently at Yale university and need to get on a plane and am not sure how long it will take to get there"

"If you need to you can pick her up in the morning, just update us when you are closer to Ohio, and i am very sorry for your loss"

"Thank you" i hang up and burst into tears, i get down on my knees and start to pray "Thank you God for not taking my baby away" i wipe my tears and rush out the door, I am on my way to the nearest airport. As i board the plane i just sit and think about how this is going to be the longest plane ride of my life.

* * *

**Puck's POV**

I slowly make my way into my tiny apartment, my body is exhausted from my full day of pool cleaning and i am ready to hit the sack when i see the red dots on my answering machine, i push the button and get myself a beer to my missed messages "Hey dude, its me Finn, i mean you could probably tell that its me from my voice but if you couldn't then its me Finn-" i laugh and laugh harder when i hear Rachel telling him to get on with what hes going to tell me "Oh yeah, i called to say that we finally set a date for the wedding, so call me back when ever you can, bye"

"Same old Finn and Rachel" i say to myself. I head over to the couch and am prepared to take a well deserved rest when the phone rings, i assume its Finn again and contemplate weather or not to get up or not, i soon realize that it is my cell phone so it must be important, maybe a client. I answer the phone

"Hey"

"Hello, is this Noah Puckerman?"

"Yes this is me"

"Good, I am from the Lima police department, i am very sorry to inform you that Shelby Corcoran has been in a car accident and has died" my heat dropped, i am so taken aback that i need to sit down.

"My daughter, her name is Beth, she was adopted by Shelby-" i think the worse and choke back tears as i finish "Was she in the car?" i hold my breath in anticipation as she answers

"No, the child was at home with a sitter, that is why we have called you Mr Puckerman, you see Shelby put you down and an in case of an emergency contact, so we are going to need you to come down and we are going to put your daughter in your custody"

"Okay, i am in L.A. right now so i will be there later tonight, thank you" i grab a couple of cloths and stuff them into a bag, i jump on my bike and sit there for a second, as i start my long trip ahead i cant help but keep thinking of what would have happened if Beth was in that car.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors note- Hey guys! first of all I want to apologize for my absence, since I posted the first chapter of this fanfiction I have not only been working on maintaining another fanfiction titled "A little ray of hope" that is a Hunger Games one that if you are a fan of Hunger Games or the ship Everlark I suggest that you check it out because its something I have worked really hard on, also I went through a lot of personal things including my best friend dealing with an eating disorder so even that caused me to postpone my writing on the other fanfictions I was working on so it wasn't just you guys that got your fanfiction delayed, again I want to tell you how sorry I am about that but I was actually watching the movie that inspired this fanfiction last night and my brain started coming up with a million different ideas for how I could make my fanfiction so my plan is to be updating at least every week and maybe even more depending on whats going on in my personal life, for everyone who has stuck around I want to thank you and hope that I don't disappoint- Izzy**

**Quinn's POV**

My plane lands and I do my best to hurry through the airport to get to the Lima police station, as I pick up the rental car that I reserved and paid for on my way to the airport just a few short hours ago I drive through the city I once called home, I haven't been back here in over a year, once I got accepted into Yale I took off and never looked back. I tried to stay in touch best I could but as time went on everyone got so busy, Rachel and Finn planning their wedding and finally starting a future together in New York, Brittany and Santana working on helping Britt pass her last year of high school, even Mercedes was making it big by finally getting a record deal down in L.A., with so many different new and exciting things happening in everyone's lives it seemed silly to bring up the past, so I left it behind where it belongs. Yet here I am about to enter into my past, getting pregnant was honestly the stupidest thing I had ever done but Beth is perfect, she has a special place in my heart and I will do anything for her, including getting on a plane and going to be there for her during her time of need. I pull up to the Lima police station and race out of the car and into the building, I go up to the desk and find a woman sitting behind it "Hello I'm Quinn Fabray and I was called here in regards to a car accident of Shelby Corcoran"

"Yes right this way" she leads me to a bench in the hallway "just wait one moment for an officer to come out and explain the whole situation to you" I sat down on the bench and my mind started racing, if Shelby is dead what does this mean to Beth? Where is she? A man dressed in a police uniform comes out into the hallway and I stand up

"Ms Fabray?"

"That's me"

"You were called because you were one of Mrs Corcoran's emergency contacts in case of an event like this"

"What happened exactly?"

"She was driving home when a drunk driver hit her, the car filliped and died on impact"

"I was told that there wasn't a baby in the car? She adopted my daughter Beth"

"There was no baby in the car, just her. During the accident the child was in the care of a babysitter"

"Where is she now?"

"She is with CPS, they handle cases like this"

"Like what exactly?"

"Orphaned children" He's right, she had no one know. To think I gave her up for adoption so that someone who could love her and take care of her like I never could while still in high school and yet she is still left alone now.

"How can I get in contact with them?"

"I will go get you their number, just wait right here" he walks away and I look outside the window, as I look I can see a pair of headlights flash and the hum of a motorcycle roars in the night, he walks through the door and stands directly across from me, I had left everything in my past except just one thing, Puck.

**Puck's POV**

She is standing there looking exactly as I remember her, her hair is a little longer now but that is the only difference, she is just as beautiful as I remember her. I run to her and when I get up close I can tell that she has been crying, I reach out to hug her and surprisingly she falls into my arms, I hold her and stroke her hair as she cries. When shes done she looks up at me with those green eyes that I fell in love with all those years ago, she gives me a look that makes me pretty damn sure that I still am. "Where is she?"  
I don't need to clarify who I am referring to.

"An officer told me that she is with CPS"

"Why did they take her?"

"Because they deal with orphaned children"

"Shelby is dead" I say it out loud hoping that it will help me believe it myself

"They called you too?"

"Yeah, something about how I am her emergency contacts"

"That's what they told me too" a man dressed in uniform comes over carrying a bag and a piece of paper in his hand

"Ms Fabray and.."

"Puckerman, Noah Puckerman"

"Ms Fabray and Mr Puckerman, I have Mrs Corcorcan's things that were found on her and in her car and also the phone number you can call in regards to your daughter"

"When can we get her?" If he didn't know that I was Beth's father already he must now since I am asking about her

"I'm not sure, CPS is opened all night so you can call them and try and figure out when you can get her" he hands Quinn the paper and the bag full of things that are Shelby's

"Thank you" she smiles at him and I can see the pity in his eyes

"I am so sorry for your loss and hope you have a good rest of your night" he walks away and me and Quinn just stand there awkwardly

"What should we do now?"

"I think we should call this number and figure out when we can get Beth, I'm sure she is scared and confused right now and I think having her around people she knows will be the best for her"

"Your right, should we meet at your hotel?"

"Hotel?"

"You did get a hotel room right?" she looks down and rubs her forehead

"Damn, I got everything but a hotel room, we could meet at yours"

"I was actually hoping that I would make reservations at your hotel"

"Out of high school and yet your still the same old Puck"

"I just thought that we should be close since Beth is involved"

"Your right, where do we think we should go?"

"I think we should go to Shebly's house"

"How are we supposed to get in?"

"If I guess correctly than her keys should be in that bag" Quinn looks down at the bag and pulls out a pair of keys

"Do you remember how to get there?"

"Yeah, you can follow me" we walk out and I watch as she gets into her car, I get on my bike and drive to Shelby's house, when we get there Quinn opens up the door and we both walk in. The house is exactly how I remember it, it looks as if a moment was frozen in time, there is a couple of dishes in the sink and I can see some of Beth's toys on the floor. I make my way inside and sit down on the couch.

"I am going to try and call CPS and see if we can pick her up tonight"

"Okay" I walk through the house and find myself in Beth's room, the walls are painted a lavender and in the center end of the wall is a crib, inside is a blanket that I remember her holding onto the last time I saw her. I pick up a stuffed duck that is on the floor next to the crib and place it back inside, I can hear Quinn on the phone in the other room and I can hear her voice escalate higher and higher as she continues what sounds like a very heated conversation. I walk back into the living room and see as Quinn throws the phone against the couch.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it"

"Whats wrong?"

"They won't let us get her tonight, she has to stay in a foster home tonight"

"It's okay, she will be okay"

"The soonest we can get her is tomorrow"

"That we will just wait until morning, we can sleep here"

"Not together, remember what happened the last time we slept together"

"I don't mean like that, you can take the guest room and I will take the couch"

"Okay" she starts to walk out and then she stops and looks back at me "I'm glad your here" she walks out of the room and I lay down on the couch to a sleepless night ahead.

**Authors note- I really hope you guys liked this chapter, I will be posting more soon, if you liked it please leave me a review and until next time-Izzy**


	3. Chapter 3

**Quinn's POV**

I wake up and feel around the bed, it's then that I realize that I am not in my door room in the tiny bed I usually sleep in because if I was then I wouldn't have much room to feel around. I sit up and look around and remember where I am, as I remember that I am in the guest room at Shelby's house, that is also when I remember that Shelby also died in a car accident yesterday. I get up and look at myself in the mirror and see that my eyes are slightly red and my hair is messy, I try to flatten my hair down the best that I can and then walk out of the room. The first thing that hits me as I walk out of the room is the smell of something cooking in the kitchen, I walk into the kitchen and see Puck flipping pancakes and then putting them on a plate that already has a small stack on it. Puck turns around and looks surprised to see me "Hey your up, sit down I made breakfast" I sit down and he puts a plate in front of me, I take a bite and am surprised that it doesn't actually tasted that bad

"Since when do you cook?"

"What do you mean?"

"You never cooked for me before, not even when we were together"

"Were we ever really together?"

"We had a baby together, I think that counts for something" I then remember about Beth, how right now she is in some foster home with a bunch of strangers that the child protective services through would be a better place for her right now than with her birth parents

"How did you sleep last night?" he changes the subject and I am happy he does, we can't afford to get into the middle of our history right now, Beth needs us and it would be best if we weren't fighting

"Not very well, can you tell?"

"No not at all, you still look pretty damn perfect" he laughs a little but I'm not sure if he means that as a joke or not. There is suddenly a knock at the door, we look at each other both confused as to who would be at the door. Puck gets up and I follow him to the front door, he opens the door and standing in front of us is a man wearing a suit and holding a briefcase "Hello can we help you?"

"Yes, I am George Dunne and I am Shebly's Corcoran's lawyer, you two must be Lucy Fabray and Noah Puckerman"

" Actually I go by Quinn Fabray"

"And I'm Puck, call me Puck"

"Okay Quinn and Puck, it is nice to meet you two" he shakes both of our hands "May I come in?"

"Oh yeah sure" Puck steps aside so he can walk in, George walks over to the dinning room table and we both follow and sit across from him

"I am here in regards to my client Shelby Corcoran's death and in regards to what will happen to her daughter Beth"

"What's going to happen to her?"

"It states here in her will that if in her untimely death her child Beth will be left to the birth parents Lucy Fabray and Noah Puckerman"

"Both of us?" as soon as I say that me and Puck look at each other with the same confused look on our faces

"It states right here that she would go into the custody of both of you, she thought that it would be best that Beth went to both of her biological parents, didn't she talk to you about this?"

"The last time we saw her she made it very clear that she wasn't very keen on us being a huge part of Beth's life" I didn't include how she slept with Puck

"This puts me in a tough spot then, for right now it would be best for the child to be put in the care of people she is familiar with, it will help her adjust to the situation better. I have already spoken to children's services and already arranged it so that you two can pick her up this morning, I will give you some time to decide on what you think is best for the child whether that is to keep her or to find another family member that is willing to take her" he stands up and hands us a business card "That is a number where you can reach me, when you have came to a decision just call me so I can get all the legal papers in order, we will be in touch" with that he walks through the door and is gone, leaving me and Puck to make yet another decision for the child we placed up for adoption two years ago that will impact her life forever. Puck lays his head on the table and I stand up and start to pace around the room

"Did Shelby mention this to you at all, like ever?"

"No she didn't, besides when would she have mentioned this to me?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe after you two slept together. After was she ever like 'By the way, in any event where I died I have decided to leave Beth to you and Quinn' did that ever come up?" I make sure my words sound as spiteful as I meant them to be, even it being a year since they slept together it still burns my bones to know that happened between them.

"She never said anything to me, did she talk to you about it?" I laugh at his statement

"Yeah she told me, she told the person she hated that she finally after being a bitch to me about wanting our daughter back that she was actually going to somehow give us another chance to get Beth back"

"She didn't hate you"

"Really? So what do you call telling me to my face that I was never going to see Beth again?"

"She just wanted what was best for her"

"Oh yeah and by keeping me away from my rightful child was the best thing for her, look how well that ended up working out"

"You were the one who put her up for adoption"

"We both did"

"I didn't want to, I wanted her, I still do"

"No you are right, we gave up our rights to Shelby a long time ago, maybe it is for the best that we try and find one of Shelby's relatives to take care of Beth, she probably knows them better than she knows us anyway"

"That isn't what I want, we may be the only ones she has left, ever think about what would happen if that was the case?"

"We will have to figure that out later, right now we need to go pick her up" We both spend the next twenty minutes installing a car seat for Beth into the rental car and it was all done in silence, so was the drive to the office of CPS. When we got there we were lead into a room where we were told to wait, the room has toys all around and is filled with so many colors it is enough to make someones head hurt, we must wait for ten minutes and then finally the same woman who lead us to this room and told us to wait comes out holding Beth in her arms. She is just as I remember her, she has a full head of blond curls and my green eyes but her face looks exactly like Puck, she is so perfect, the woman walks over and hands Beth to me and Puck a bag that I can only guess is full of all the things that she needed last night. The last time I saw my daughter she was nervous around me and cried every time I held her but now she leans into me and wraps her little arms around my neck, holding onto me for dear life. I hug her back and close my eyes savoring the moment, when I open them I can see Puck smiling at us and suddenly I'm not so worried about everything anymore.

**Authors note- Hey guys! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, I wanted to make their reunion with Beth to be sweet and I hope that I succeeded in that, if you liked this chapter please leave a review and I will be updating soon and hopefully regularly and until next time-Izzy **


	4. Chapter 4

**Quinn's POV**

The drive back is quite, I sit in the back of car with Beth while Puck drives us back to Shelby's house. Beth falls asleep almost immediately after being strapped into her car seat and the whole way back to the house her tiny little hand never leaves mine. Puck pulls into the driveway and we both just kind of sit in the car absorbing everything that has happened, soon Beth opens her eyes and me and Puck both get out of the car, as I unbuckle her and pick her up Puck watches intently, he is mesmerized by they way I am handling her. We take her into the house and set her down into her crib, I walk into the other room and sit down at the dinning room table, Puck follows me and sits down next to me, I lay my head down on the table and he rubs my back, I would have normally never let him do this before but under the circumstances that we are currently under I allow him to. "Are we really going to do this?"

"I honestly don't know"

"Do you want to?"

"I don't know that either, I think we should go through all our options first"

"And that includes?"

"Seeing if there is anyone who could take care of her better than we could" as if on cue we heard crying coming from the other room as if she was testing us, seeing if we really could take care of her the way she needs us to. I walk into the room and find her standing up and balancing herself against the side, this makes me wonder if she is actually walking yet? How can this be something that I don't know, she is my own daughter and I don't know if she has reached one of her milestones yet. I pick her up and try to sooth her "Shhh, its okay baby, your okay"

"Do you think she is hungry?"

"Yeah she might be" I hand her to Puck and he sits her down in her highchair, she is still crying and Puck tries to calm her down as I search through the cabinets for some baby food that I can feed her. I finally find some and get out a spoon that I can use to feed her with, as I scoop out every single bite she fights me on it, she refuses to eat any of it and she just gets even more upset as she makes a mess all over herself, Puck must be able to tell how frustrated and defeated I feel at the same time because he stands up and searches through the cabinets and then comes over with a box of Cheerios in his hands, he comes over and dumps a pile onto the tray of her highchair and sits down in chair next to me as we watch her eat the cereal. "How did you know?"

"Last time I watched her she couldn't get enough of them, I figured that if she didn't want anything else she probably wanted a snack"

"Your so good at this"

"Thanks I think" he laughs and I think its because my words were dripping with jealousy

"I just mean you are so natural with her, I don't think she likes me"

"Are you kidding me? Of course she likes you"

"How are you so sure about that?"

"It's because your her mom Quinn, I know she doesn't know you that well but trust me she remembers you"

"Well I guess she has all the time in the world to get to know me again" Puck walks over and wipes off her face and I pick her up and take her into the living room, I lay her on my chest and rub her back as she falls asleep in my arms, it is just minutes later when Puck comes into the room and sits down next to me, he runs his fingers through her hair and smiles

"She looks just like you"

"Really? Because I always thought that she looked more like you"

"That's not possible because she is perfect just like you, and I am definitely not anything close to perfect"

"I am not perfect"

"I think you are"

"Are you really seriously thinking about keeping her"

"Yeah I am"

"Why now?"

"We missed our chance to be her parents when she was born but now we are both out of high school and are older and I don't see why we can't take our chance back"

"What if there is someone who could take care of her better, who are the other options"

"I don't think there is any Quinn, you heard the lawyer. Shelby didn't have living relatives besides Rachel who is currently engaged to our best friend Finn, she isn't going to take in her birth mothers adoptive child who she doesn't even know" I stand up and take Beth and place her into the crib knowing that this talk could turn into an argument "Besides we are both her parents"

"Were, we were her parents"

"We still are, especially now when we are all she has"

"That is what scares me"

"What?"

"I'm scared okay?"

"Well so am I, this whole situation is scary okay? One day I am living in L.A. working at my pool cleaning business and the next thing I know I am back in Lima Ohio being told that my daughter needs me to be her father again. But you know what? I would do anything for her and that's why I can't turn my back on her, not again"

"You don't get it, I'm not scared the same way you are"

"Then how are you?" our voices have been getting increasingly louder as we talk and I hope that Beth doesn't wake up again

"I don't know if I can be a mother okay? I obviously wasn't meant to one in the first place, what if I am no good at it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"God gave me a baby at the age of 16 just so I would have to give her up, then when she is brought back into my life I am told how unfit I am to have ever been her mom whatsoever and now I find out that the same person who had just told me that I couldn't raise Beth has now left her to me, this whole thing doesn't make any sense and I feel like its a sign that I just wasn't meant to be her mom"

"Quinn that is crazy"

"It's not crazy, this is how I feel"

"Well if you believe in signs then what do you call the opportunity to raise the baby we gave up, it is a sign that Beth is our child and was always meant to be our child"

"Are you willing to do this with me? Be there with me every step of the way?"

"I am all in, we can do this Quinn" I look over at Beth sleeping and feel an overwhelming amount of love for that little baby, Puck is right, she belongs to us, she has always belonged to us

"Call the lawyer, we will need to sign some papers" There is no going back now, we have both made the decision to raise Beth, we are going to do what we couldn't have done when she was born, were going to be her parents.


	5. Chapter 5

**Puck's POV**

I get off the phone with the lawyer and sit back down on the couch with Quinn "He said he would be over in 15 minutes"

"He will bring all the paperwork?"

"Yeah" we are really going to do this, were going to be Beth's parents again

"Do you think she will ever remember Shelby?"

"I honestly don't know, I don't know how old kids are when they remember things"

"So your saying we might be the only parents she ever knows?"

"Yeah, I guess so" I think about it in my head, Beth might never remember who Shebly was, the person who raised her for the first year and a half of her life will just be gone, as she died all traces of her impact on Beth's life will go with it. I know about Quinn's history with Shelby and I don't know if Quinn will ever want Beth to know who she was, would we ever talk about her again once this is all over? We just sit there together for a while, I notice how Quinn doesn't keep her eyes off Beth, she is sleeping soundly in her crib and just this little moment would be one that a week ago we would have missed, now these everyday moments will be ours to share with our daughter for the rest of our lives. Soon there was a knock on the door and Quinn gets up and answers it, I hear her greeting Shelby's lawyer and then see them walking into the kitchen, I take one last look at Beth to make sure she is still sleeping and then I follow behind them. Quinn and I both sit down at the table across from him and watch as he pulls out papers out of his briefcase

"Here we have just some basic documents that state that you will be Beth Corcoran's legal guardians and will be her providers"

"So it is like we are adopting her?"

"In a way yes, it will be more of a fast adoption considering the child no longer has a mother and you will get to keep the child in your custody during the whole process"

"Will we be able to change her last name?" this question from Quinn surprises me, maybe she really was trying to erase Shelby from Beth's life, and if it is possible for her to get her last name changed would she get my last name? Or Quinn's?

"That will be possible but you will need to get the right paperwork first, would you like me to get you the documents needed?"

"Yeah, I would like that, thank you" he sets the documents in front of us

"Now before you sign these I need to tell you that by signing these it means that the next step is to go in front of a judge to insure this appeal is accepted and then you will have three home visits by a social worker who will check in with you and Beth to insure she is adjusting well and you two are also adjusting to being parents, this is all happening in the state of Ohio so you are needed to stay here during this whole process"

"Excuse me?"

"It is required that at least one of you is here to go through the process, it would also be in best interest of the child not to be taken out of the environment that she is most comfortable with during this change in her life"

"So basically you are saying that we have to stay here, in this house to raise our daughter"

"For around a year yes, after everything in the legal system is taken care of you two are free to move wherever you choose"

"But I am currently enrolled at Yale, I am missing classes as we speak"

"Can we have a moment to speak, we will be right back" I take Quinn's hand and lead her into another room "What the hell was that about?"

"Puck I am going to Yale university, I can't just uproot my life like this"

"I have to leave everything behind too"

"Yeah, your pool cleaning business"

"It's a legit business"

"I'm not saying that it isn't"

"Your just saying that your life is more important, same old Quinn, always putting herself over everyone and everything"

"Do not pull that with me"

"It's true though, you put yourself before Beth years ago and your doing it again now"

"Do not ever say that I put myself before my daughter, everything I did, putting her up for adoption was all for her"

"Then be here for her now, besides what is the big deal, we never decided that we were going to move back with you, where would me and Beth stay anyway?"

"We could have gotten a house, I don't know but we could have figured it out, make it work"

"Oh so you were supposed to carry on with your life and I was left to watch her all day, leaving everything behind in the process"

"It wasn't like that"

"Like it or not but we had this baby together and now we need to stick together now to raise her"

"Your right, I'm sorry. This is about Beth" we both walk back into the kitchen and I hope he hasn't heard us arguing

"Is everything figured out?"

"Yeah, were going to sign the papers"

"Great! I'm going to need you two to sign it as your legal names to insure the documents are binding and legal" I watch as Quinn signs on the dotted lines as 'Lucy Fabray' a name I have never heard or seen her acknowledge as her real name. When the time come she passes the papers and the pen over to me and I sign as 'Noah Puckerman'

"Okay, congratulations" he smiles at us and gets up to leave "I will call you with the court date"

"Okay thank you" he lets himself out leaving Quinn, me and our daughter, after all this time things are now official.


	6. Chapter 6

**Quinn's POV**

I wake up to hear the screams and cries from Beth, this is yet again another night when she has woken both of us up in the middle of the night like this, at this point both Puck and I am running on no sleep and just making it harder for us to try and take care of a toddler all day and now all night. I pull myself out of bed and make my way into Beth's room where I find her already in the arms of Puck, she is still crying and Puck is bouncing her up and down trying to get her to calm down. Puck looks over at me "She woke you up too?"

"Yeah, it was kinda hard to miss the screaming" Puck holds Beth close to his chest and starts to hum to her, he is pacing around the room as she starts to calm down and I watch at how good he is with her, how good he is with our daughter. Finally Beth stops crying and calms down enough so Puck can lay her back down into the crib, we both stand in the door and wait as she falls asleep, only five minutes pass and she is out like a light giving us the opportunity to quietly sneak out of the room, we both walk into the kitchen and I go to the fridge to get a bottle of water

"I think she is as exhausted as we are" he laughs but it sounds forced, I know we are both tired ourselves but since we are up there is a very small chance either of us will be getting back to bed anytime soon.

"You would think she wouldn't even have enough energy to keep us up all night too" I sit down at the table and lay my head down, I close my eyes and am desperate enough to actually fall asleep right here at the kitchen table, my eyes open when I feel Puck's hand on my back, he is rubbing circles on my back and this scene seems oddly familiar to the first and only time we had sex, it was also when I got pregnant. "Puck I know that something like this have brought us closer together but we can't do this, not again"

"What?"

"It's not a good idea and now we have Beth to think about, I know that there are still feelings there but it's just not the time" he bursts out laughing

"You thought that I was putting the moves on you?"I blush and feel so embarrassed

"Then what the hell was that about"

"What about?"

"The rubbing my back thing"

"Quinn I was just comforting you, or trying at least"

"Oh, I feel stupid now"

"I'm sorry that I gave you the wrong impression"

"It's not like I wanted anything to happen between us"

"Quinn, I just wanted to tell you that I was thinking you have done a really good job this week with Beth, you have been getting up with her and we have been taking care of her without many issues for a whole week" he laughs and I crack a smile myself

"Thank you, you have been doing a really good job too"

"I know how worried you were about this at first but your doing such a good job, you really are her mother, you always were meant to be"

"Why couldn't I have had this back in high school? Why couldn't we have had this?"

"I was young, and dumb"

"If you were more like this before we probably could have done a decent job at raising her"

"You needed time to grow up yourself, luckily you grew out of your crazy Quinn phase" I laugh at what he says, it might be from the exhaustion but I just don't have time to argue with him about this, and I will never say this out loud but he is a little right about my crazy phase.

"Do you think we would be here if we decided to keep her"

"Yeah, except we wouldn't be in Shelby's house and we would most definitely still be in Lima" he's right, if we had kept Beth we probably would be living at my mom's house still and we both would have been Lima losers like I had predicted. I stand up and start to look around the kitchen, I wander my way into the living room and start to look around the room, everything here belonged to Shelby and the life she built with Beth, it is like a ghost she left behind and it's eerie. "This house screams the ghost of Shelby, we really should do some redecorating"

"I would have to agree" he looks over at a picture hanging on the wall of Beth and Shelby "We should really replace this with a picture of the three of us"

"That would be nice"

"Since were up do you think we should start redecorating tonight?"

"Yeah, lets see what we can do" we spend the next hour removing all pictures that have Shelby in them and anything that is hers personally, we find some boxes in the garage and start to put all her things into boxes, after about an hour and a half we have four or five boxes that are filled and now fills a small space of the living room , we are both laying on the couch and my head is laying on his shoulder "I think we did good tonight, we have a good start"

"What time is it?" I look over to the clock that sits on a table in the corner and I see that the clock reads 3:45

"It's 3:45" I yawn through my words and I can feel my eyes growing heavy and that they are starting to close

"We should go out tomorrow and get that picture I mentioned"

"Yeah that would be nice" I move my body closer to him and before my eyes close I could swear that Puck had kissed my head and whispered something, I just couldn't make what he said out before I fall asleep for the last time that night.


	7. Chapter 7

**Puck's POV**

I can feel Quinn's breathing as I start to wake up, last night she fell asleep on my shoulder and she looked too peaceful for me to disturb her but at this point she is almost completely on top of me. Her hair is a mess and yet looks perfect simultaneously, she is laying perfectly still and I don't want to wake her but she has made it almost impossible for me to move and not wake her up in the process, I turn and look over at the clock and see that it is only 8:30 meaning we only slept for about five hours, I might never get used to the feeling of never having enough sleep. I try and wiggle out from under Quinn but it just causes her to stir and then she shoots up from off my lap. Her hair is everywhere and she starts to mat it down and soon it is back to what it normally looks like and she looks around "What time is it?"

"It's 8:30"

"Is she up yet?"

"I don't think so, she was up most of the night so I can only guess that she is exhausted"

"Did we both fall asleep on the couch last night?"

"It was actually more this morning when we fell asleep and you fell asleep on me" I laugh and watch as a smalls smile spreads across her face

"Would you go check on her for me? I haven't taken a shower in like two days"

"Yeah sure"

"Thank you" she gets up off the couch and soon I can hear the shower running. I get up and go into Beth's room and find that she is actually awake, she is smiling up at me and I pick her up, she holds onto my shirt with her little hands and I smile.

"You let us sleep didn't you" she smiles and I wonder if she understands what I am saying to her. I take her into the kitchen and place her into her highchair and start to feed her some breakfast. Not long after Quinn comes out of the bathroom and is now changed into a different outfit and her hair is damp, she comes over to Beth and kisses her on top of her head

"Good morning sweetie" she runs her hands through Beth's blond curls and then makes her way over to the fridge and starts to make herself breakfast. "I can watch her if you want to go get ready now, I'm sure the mall is opened already" I am confused for a second but then I remember the conversation we had last night and how we were going to get a group family photo.

"Oh yeah, I will just go change real quick"

"Okay" she smiles at me and I go into the bathroom and change and when I am done I walk back into the room to find Quinn sitting down at the table with Beth right next to her in her highchair and I smile. This is a scene I would have seen every single day for the past year and a half if we had kept her, giving her up was one of the things I most regret but getting Quinn pregnant is something I never regret. She looks up at me and smiles, she starts to clear the dishes and then picks Beth up "I'm going to go and get her changed, I will be back" I wait in the the kitchen and soon they are both back, Beth is dressed in a cute little dress that I think is going to look really good in our picture, I stand up and take her from Quinn

"Well don't you look pretty monkey face" Quinn laughs at my nickname for her and she grabs Beth's diaper bag and we are out the door. Quinn puts her into her car seat and then gets into the passenger seat next to me and I start the car. On our drive there Quinn turns around and starts to talk to Beth

"Were going to go and get our picture taken, you excited Beth" I can hear Beth's laughter and she continues to play with whatever toy she grabbed before we left the house. I pull into a parking space and turn off the car "I will get her out and you can get her stroller" I get out of the car and open up the trunk and pull out her stroller. I spend the next ten minutes trying to open up this damn stroller.

"Damn it" Quinn is bouncing Beth on her hip and comes over to stand by me

"What?"

"How the hell are you supposed to get this damn thing opened?"

"I'm sure it's not that hard"

"Why don't you try it then" she hands Beth over to me and then I watch as she tries to open up the stroller, I watch as she struggles to unfold the stroller, it takes about five minutes before she decides that it isn't going to open and she isn't getting anywhere.

"We don't really need a stroller, I will just carry her"

"Your already carrying her bag so I will carry her" Quinn puts the stroller back into the truck and I close it, I laugh at the fact that we are now in charge of another person and yet we can't even open up a stroller. We walk into the mall and find our way to the photography place, I take a seat and Quinn tells me that she is going to go sign us up for a picture and I start to bounce her on my lap. I look over and see another family sitting in the chairs across from me, they are a married obviously and they have two kids, their parents are making small fixes to their outfits to make sure their picture will look perfect. Quinn sits back down and I look down at my outfit, I am wearing jeans and a t-shirt and I suddenly feel like I don't look good enough for this picture. "Do you think that I look okay for this?"

"What are you talking about? You look fine"

"I just feel a little under dressed for a family picture"

"Well we haven't always been the most conventional people, isn't that right Beth" she laughs and I can't help but smile too. We are called back into the back and we sit down in front of the camera. I sit down next to Quinn and move Beth so she is sitting on both of our laps, the guy behind the camera tells us to get closer together so I move closer and put my hand on her back, Quinn looks up at me and smiles as the camera flashes. We both look down at Beth and the camera flashes again, our last picture is of all of us smiling at the camera and when we are done I can't help but feel something between the two of us. Quinn goes up to pay and ask for the prints of the pictures and I sit back down in the chairs, I watch her holding Beth and I couldn't have asked for a better person to have a baby with, she is such a good mom. I look around and see that there isn't anyone else here except a woman sitting a few chairs down from me

"Is that your wife and baby?" she gestures over to Quinn and Beth and must have put two and two together considering there isn't anyone else in here

"Yes" I answer without hesitation and don't correct her about the fact that Quinn isn't actually my wife.

"You have a beautiful family"

"Thank you" as I watch them I know what the lady said was true, they are my family, and the only family I need.


	8. Chapter 8

**Quinn's POV**

We hang up the picture of our new family as Beth plays in her playpen on the floor, I take a step back and make sure it isn't crocked and Puck adjusts it accordingly as I tell him in what direction it would look better. He steps back and stands next to me and we look at it together, it is a blown up picture of the three of us that we got taken days ago at the mall, it now hangs over the fireplace and I pick Beth up and show her what we have just done "What do you think pretty girl?" she just giggles when I call her the nickname I gave her

"I think she loves it" Puck smiles at us and Beth reaches her arms out for Puck to take her into his arms

"You want to see daddy?" I hand her over and Puck carries her into the next room to start and fix her some lunch. We have gotten into the comfort of referring to Puck as Beth's dad, I mean it's true and it feels more natural since he is the only dad she has even known since Shelby never had a boyfriend or husband. I still have been cautious about calling myself her mom, I mean biologically I am and will be in the state of the law as soon as we get our court hearing but in the first year of her life she knew another woman as her mom, I just don't want to do anything too soon that might hurt Beth in the long run. I hear a knock at the door and I call behind me "Ill get it" I walk over to the door and open it up, a woman wearing very dressy cloths and holding a binder is standing on the other side and is smiling at me

"Hello are you Mr Fabray?"

"Yes, may I ask who you are?"

"I am Ms Groff and I am your social worker" she outstretches her hand and I shake it "May I come in?"

"Of course" I step aside and let her inside the house and Puck comes walking out of the kitchen with Beth in his arms

"Who was at the door Quinn?" he sees the woman standing in the hallway and gives me a confusing look

"Puck this is Ms Groff, our social worker in Beth's case" she walks over to him and outstretches her hand again for him to shake it, he shifts Beth to just one of his arms and he shakes her hand

"You must be Noah Puckerman, hi I'm Ms Groff" she makes her way into the kitchen and sits down in one of the chairs and opens up her binder. I sit down in one of the chairs across from her and after putting Beth in her highchair he sits down in the chair next to me. "So if I have this correct you are Beth's biological parents"

"Yes, we were 16 when she was born and so Shebly adopted her to give her the life we couldn't"

"Well this is a very unique case, I have never had one where the biological parents of an adopted child are left as her guardians in case of an event like this"

"We didn't know about this either, not until they were giving us Beth to look after"

"So I will be your case worker and what that means is I will be making unexpected home visits, three to be exact and in the end of my report it will basically go to the judge about if you are the right fit to be her adoptive parents" I feel a bit of anger, how could we be unfit to be her parents when we are the two people that brought her into this world?

"I thought that we would be adopting her quickly? We actually have a court date coming up soon about this"

"That is just to grant you as her guardians during the time that this whole process is going to take, it is in the best interest of the child for her to be surrounded to people that are familiar, it will help her adjust better and after my three visits that's when everything will be official and set in stone"

"How long should this all take?"

"Around a year, and trust me most adoption cases can take much longer" I sit there stunned, we are going to be staying in Lima for a year together, a whole year of us playing house. "Speaking of years where do you see yourselves in five years?" I answer first

"Hopefully graduated from Yale with honors, and still being a mom to Beth" she writes down something and then listens to Puck's answer

"I of course will be still taking care of Beth but also working on my business"

"Now Lucy you answered that you hope to have graduated from Yale, does that mean you two tend to move from Ohio?"

"That is the plan for now but we know that we are needed here until the process is done" I give her my best show smile and hope she can't see through the cracks, I love Beth and will do anything for her but I still feel the progress I made that got me into one of the best school's of the country falling apart and I slowly feel like I am slipping into the role of the Quinn that got herself knocked up and was in a relationship with Puck.

"That is good, and it says here that you are adopting her together, now while it isn't required it would probably make it easier if you two were married, so do you have any plans of getting married?" I choke down a laugh, Puck wasn't even boyfriend material the short nine months we were together, he definitely isn't husband material.

"We aren't together" I am glad Puck answered for me because I didn't think I could get through that sentence without laughing.

"Obviously you were involved at some point but just to clarify again you two are not in a relationship" we both answer at the same time

"No" she closes the binder and stands up

"Okay well Beth seems happy and healthy here so you guys are obviously doing a good job providing and caring for her, just avoid sleeping with each other and if you do then be prepared to take that next step because this child is relying on you and you can't mess that up by adding sex to this messy equation" she walks out of the kitchen and yells behind her that she will let herself out and will soon be in touch. I sit there and as soon as I hear the door close behind me I can't stop myself from bursting out laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"That she thought we were sleeping together, I mean we put our daughter up for adoption because we weren't together and weren't ready for such a serious commitment to each other"

"We obviously slept together before"

"Well are you ready to marry me Puck?"

"No"

"I didn't think so" I stand up and pick Beth up "Come help us finish putting up the pictures" he smiles and follows us, while Puck and I might not love each other the way we used to there is no denying our love for our daughter and because of her we are going to have to make this work. I can't stop thinking about the look in Puck's eyes when I asked him about being married to me, is this something he has thought about? I keep trying to tell myself that I will be able to resist falling back into the same pattern with him but I can't help but hear a part of myself that isn't quite ready to give that up just yet.


	9. Chapter 9

**Puck's POV**

I stand in front of the mirror and try and figure out the right way my tie is supposed to set on my dress shirt. I can hear Quinn's footsteps coming up from behind me, I know it's her without even turning around. I look up and see her standing behind me in the mirror, she has Beth bouncing on her hip and I turn around to face them. "Do you think my tie looks okay?" she laughs, earning a giggle from Beth and I watch as she turns and sets her down on the bed and walks over to me.

"Let me help you" she comes over and starts to fix my tie.

"Why do I have to wear this anyway?"

"Because we have to look presentable, we need the court, and the judge needs to see how serious we are about adopting Beth. They need to see how fit as parents for her"

"How are we unfit? We are her parents for god's sake, I watched her come out of you" she tightens my tie and laughs

"Oh, don't remind me. I still have the stretch marks to prove it"

"Stretch marks? Really?"

"Yeah, what did you expect? That's what happens when you carry around a child for nine months" her tone sounds defensive, I quickly try and pull the conversation back into good territory. I don't want her to be offended.

"I just meant that your body definitely does not look like you were ever pregnant" I give her my best smile and I can see the blush creeping across her cheeks.

"Thank you" we both look down and notice how close we are standing to each other. She drops her hands down and takes a step back, she looks like she is about to say something when she turns around at the sound of Beth clapping. She turns around to look at Beth, I can see her sitting on the bed clapping her hands together as an sign that she wants to be held. "Okay baby, I'll pick you up. We have to fix your hair anyway" she goes over and picks her up, I look at the mess of curls that is Beth's hair and watch them as Quinn and Beth walk out of the room. I follow them to the bathroom where I can see Beth sitting on the counter and Quinn is going through her hair with a brush, Beth is playing with the button's on Quinn's sweater.

"Hey there sweetie" Beth smiles at me and I sit on the edge of the bathtub to be closer to her as her hair gets fixed.

"I really hope you were talking to the baby" I laugh at her comment

"Of course I was"

"Just double checking, remember what our social worker said"

"Oh yeah, that we're not allowed to have sex" she hits me with the brush and I can't help but fall apart with laughter.

"Don't say that around her"

"Like she can actually understand us"

"She is going to speak soon, trust me. I can sense it"

"How do we know that she can't already talk?" a sudden realization hits me hard, we might have missed out on a lot of important moments for her.

"She hasn't said anything yet, and I don't think she walks yet either" Quinn picks her up from the counter and hands her to me.

"Are you both ready to go?" Quinn takes one last look at herself in the mirror before deciding what to say in response.

"Yes" I stand up and Beth holds onto me tightly, she grabs the car keys off of the counter and turns to face me. "Are you going to drive, or am I?"

"I'll drive if you want"

"Yeah, okay" she walks out of the door and I follow, I lock the door behind me and hand Beth to Quinn so she can put her into her car seat. I get into the drivers seat and I turn on the car, Quinn quickly puts her into the car seat and then comes into the passengers side. It's a quick drive to the courthouse and I think both of us can feel the sense of nervousness as we get closer and closer, when we get there we all walk in together, like a family. We both sit on a bench as we wait for the lawyer to get here, Quinn is entertaining Beth with some toy that we brought from home as we wait. Soon Beth get's a little fussy and Quinn has to pull out some goldfish, we are trying to get her to eat the snack when I can see our lawyer approaching us. He walks up to us with briefcase in hand and I stand up to greet him.

"When is our hearing?"

"It starts in a couple of minutes, we should be making our way in there now" Quinn packs away the snack and picks Beth up and we all walk into the courtroom together. We file in and get to witness the last few minutes of the trial that is currently going on, I look around and remember how it felt to be here during my own trial. Until now I had totally forgotten that I had gone to juvi, I hope that my record won't hurt our chances of getting Beth, I mean they let criminals see their kids all the time right? I'm not a criminal anymore, that was my past, Beth is my future.

"Now the case of Beth Corcoran" our lawyer stands up and whispers to me

"That's us" we stand up and make our way to the front of the room, we stand behind a table and we all sit down, Quinn get's out the snacks again when Beth starts to get fussy. She sets the little bowl that is full of goldfish down on the table and we wait as the judge looks over at our case file.

"All rise" we both stand up in a hurry and somehow Beth has managed to spill the goldfish, they all tumble to the floor and we both frantically look down, embarrassed.

"Shit" I mumble under my breath as Quinn hands Beth over to me as she tries to pick up the spilled crackers. She is trying her best to pick up every single one and everyone watches intently, our lawyer, the judge. "Quinn just leave them, they are waiting for us" she stands up and her cheeks are reddened with embarrassment.

"Sorry"

"Are we ready now?"

"Yes your honor" our lawyer answers for us.

"Well Ms. Fabray, and Mr. Puckerman, after reviewing your file I can tell that you are more than fit to be her guardians, and later her parents. It helps that you are both her birth parents, giving you legal rights so in the case of Beth Corcoran I hereby grant legal custody to both of you, we are dismissed" It was really that easy? We are being ushered out of the room and all I can think about how easy that was, do they just give kids out now?

"Was it really that easy? What if we were drug dealers and pimps?" I must have been talking loudly because Quinn hits me, pretty hard. The judge is still siting at her bench and her voice scares me.

"What was that Mr Puckerman?"

"He didn't say anything" Quinn is trying to juggle holding Beth and now trying to fix this, and insure that I haven't just screwed this all up for us.

"I heard what you said, so are you? Are you two drug dealers and pimps?"

"No, no ma'mam"

"Good, then my ruling is just the same" Quinn thanks our lawyer and then waits for him to leave so she can hit me again.

"What the hell was that? 'What if we are drug dealers and pimps?'" she mimics my voice in a lame attempt to do an impression of me, it was so bad that I couldn't help but start laughing. This resulted in being hit yet again by her, that just made her crack a smile. I take a step closer to her and put my hands on her face gently.

"I can see you smiling" she looks up at me and smiles, I am about to lean in when Beth causes me to take a step back, we were starting to squish her and she didn't like that too much. I laugh and she smiles up at me again. She takes my hand in hers

"Come on, let's go out to eat, we can celebrate"

"I like that idea" she doesn't let go of my hand once as we walk out of the courtroom and to the car. Looking the part of a real family that we seem to be now.


	10. Chapter 10

**Quinn's POV**

I pull Beth's arms through the little black dress I am putting on her, she is squirming around. "Beth, baby please stay still" she is extremely fussy this morning, it's as if she knows what day it is. It's like she knows that today is Shelby's funeral and it's a day where everyone is supposed to be upset. I hear footsteps coming from behind me and I turn to find Puck standing in the doorway of Beth's room. "Could you help me?"

"Yeah, sure" he talks quietly, it seems like the weigh of today is already falling heavy on him. He walks over and holds her up as I button the back of her dress.

"Can you sit down with her so I can fix her hair?" Puck takes her into his arms and walks into the bathroom, he sits down on the toilet and I pull her brush out of a drawer. I try and smooth out her messy curls before running a brush through them. "She has my hair"

"Yeah, she looks just like you" he chuckles

"What's so funny?"

"I'm just thinking about how beautiful she will be when she grows up, how many guys I'm going to have to fend off"

"That's right, we don't want her getting pregnant at 16"

"We'll just have to make sure she doesn't get a boyfriend like me"

"Your not so bad" I give him a small smile "But your right, I won't let her make our same mistakes" I finish brushing out her hair and pull it back into a ponytail. I give her a quick kiss on her cheek and put the brush away. "I still have to get ready"

"Okay, I'll get dressed quick and will watch her for you"

"Thanks" The thing about having a child and being a mom is that you never put yourself first anymore, Beth is always put first now. He walks out of the bathroom and I close the door behind him. I start the shower and undress, I step in and let the warm water fall over my head and run down my back. I imagine the water is the tension I have had built up since I woke up and that as it falls it is leaving my mind. I wash my hair and rinse, I turn off the water and grab a towel. I dry off my hair and then wrap the towel around my body, I walk out of the room and head towards my room. Puck is sitting on the floor playing with some toys with Beth, he is now dressed in a black suit and he looks over at me. He blushes at the sight of me only wearing a towel, I stop and stare at him. "What?"

"It's nothing, your just in a towel"

"It's not like you haven't seen me naked before" I laugh "Or else she wouldn't be here" I leave him speechless and walk into my room, I brush out my hair and apply my makeup, when I'm done I get my dress on and am looking at myself in the mirror as I try to zip up the zipper in the back. I hear a knock on the door and a voice coming from the other side

"Quinn, can I come in?"

"Yeah" he opens up the door and takes a look at me "Could you zip me up?"

"Yeah, sure" he walks over and I shudder under his touch "Sorry"

"Oh your fine, your hands are just cold" he keeps one hand on my shoulder as he zips me up, his touch is familiar and comfortable but I would never admit to him that I think like that. He finishes zipping up my dress and he continues to stand close to me and I can feel his breath on the back of my neck, I think he might kiss my neck, I want him to kiss my neck. He is leaning in when the sound of Beth crying comes from the other room, I turn so quickly that it knocks him back and I have to catch him, I notice that he holds onto my hand a little longer than normal and then just like that he lets go. We both go out to the living room and and Beth is crying.

"Monkey face, whats wrong?" Puck picks Beth up and plants small kisses all over her little face, I reach down and pick up her stuffed animal that is sitting on the floor and give it to her, she starts to calm down when I rub small circles around her back. Hearing her cry is what snaps me out of it, she is exactly the reason why I can't let anything happen between the two of us. I love her too much to start up a messy relationship with Puck. Like I said, she always comes first now. I go and grab her shoes and her diaper bag, I bring her shoes back and put them onto her feet.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, did you grab her some snacks? I just don't want her getting fussy later today"

"Yeah, I have a couple of snacks in her bag earlier. She didn't eat much this morning" Puck grabs her coat and puts it on her and then hands her to me as we walk out the door, I get her into her car seat and then get into the car. Puck drives and I give him directions to the church, as we pull into a parking spot I remember all the times coming to this church growing up, how I would come with my family, I can't help but think about taking Beth here when our life is more stable. This is the first time I actually allow myself to think of a future of Beth growing up here, growing up in the town where her parents met and even fell in love, even though that was a long time ago. I get out of the car and get Beth out of her seat while Puck grabs her bag. As we are walking into the church I see two familiar faces walking behind us, Finn and Rachel. They came down from New York, even though Rachel didn't grow up with a mom Shelby was still her biological mother and she wanted to be here, Finn came as her supportive fiancee.

"Hey" Rachel comes up and gives me a hug, I remember a time when we hated each other and now we are close friends, it was Beth that really changed it all. I can't say that Finn and Rachel wouldn't have gotten together eventually, I mean they are soulmates, but if I didn't get pregnant then I might have held onto Finn a little longer.

"I'm really glad you could make it" I give her a smile and accept Finn's hug

"She would have wanted me to be here" Rachel lets a few tears shed and I can feel Beth hold onto me tighter. Rachel runs her fingers through Beth's hair and Beth smiles up at her, at her aunt Rachel. Puck opens up the door of the church and the four of us walk in together. I take a seat up front and hold Beth close to my chest, I am rubbing her back as Puck sits down next to me and Rachel sits on the other side of me. We sit and make small talk as we wait for the service to start, the church starts to fill and I even see some familiar faces like Rachel's dads, Mr. Shue and Mrs. Pillsbury, even Jesse made an appearance. He made sure not to sit near us after seeing Finn sitting closely next to Rachel who is wearing her engagement ring on her left hand. I sit and listen as the service goes on, I quiet down Beth the few times when she starts to cry and make sure she isn't disturbing the speaker. I even let Puck lace our fingers together, he holds my hand tightly and neither of us really acknowledge it, we just let it happen, knowing both of us need it today.

When the service is over we all head over to the next room for refreshments, I had Beth over to Puck "She really needs to eat something, do you think you could give him some snacks while I go and get a drink"

"Yeah sure" he gives me a smile and me and Rachel link arms as we head over to get some drinks.

"So you and Puck are really doing this? Raising Beth together?"

"Yeah"

"How's it been going?"

"Really good actually, it was hard at first but if just feels so natural. I just think I was always meant to be her mother" I realize what I just said and how it sounds after it was already out of my life, out of all days to say something rude this was not one of them "Oh my gosh Rachel I am so sorry, I didn't mean it like that"

"No it's okay, I'm not offended" she gives me a smile to show she isn't upset but I still feel just as bad. We go over and both get some alcohol, they don't even card us, probably not wanting to upset the mother of the grieving child on a day like this. We take our drinks and head back over to the table when Finn and Puck are sitting, I see Puck feeding Beth some applesauce and I can't help but let what I'm thinking slip out of my mouth.

"He is such a good dad"

"He seems like it, you can tell how much he loves her" she smiles at them, I feel like she is smiling more at the sight of Finn helping Puck out, I can just see her imagining Finn and their future children in her head right now. We walk over and take a seat at the table, Beth finishes her applesauce and I get out a box of goldfish for her, I laugh at the thought of us dropping the goldfish at the court hearing, making complete fools out of ourselves in the process.

"So you two are like re-adopting her?" Finn looks confused at his own question

"Basically we are, we currently have legal custody of her but will have to re-adopt her though"

"That sounds really crazy, I mean we are her biological parents, I watched her come out of you" I hit him but not hard enough for it to hurt.

"Puck!" my voice is raised slightly but not enough where I'm yelling. Finn is laughing at us

"What?"

"You can't just say that"

"But it's true!"

"You two are so funny, you have had her less than a month and you are already a married couple" I watch Puck's face closely for any indication that the idea of us being married freaks him out. I wait for him to deny that possibility but he doesn't. We sit around a talk for a while and then we hear someone announce that we are going to be releasing balloons, it is supposed to be symbolic and meaningful so I grab Beth and take Puck's hand as we walk outside. We each grab a balloon, I even hand one to Beth and we follow the crowd. Finn and Rachel are behind us, they are talking to her dads but that's okay, this is our moment, one for our little family. I wait for the cue to let them go and shiver, I hate that I didn't bring my coat, it is freezing out here. Puck notices and takes off his suit coat and puts it around my shoulders

"You don't have too"

"That's okay, I want too" we are quite, the silence is making the sadness of the day dawn on me so I start talking, I say the first thing that pops into my head

"Do you think she will remember her?"

"I'm not sure, I know it's selfish but I kind of don't want her too" I look up at him "I don't want her to hurt over it, I don't ever want her to feel pain or sadness. Isn't that my job as her dad?" I nod and then the cue to let the balloons go, we all release ours at the same time but Beth is still holding onto hers.

"Baby you have to let it go" she understands what I'm saying and she releases it into the air, as soon as it is gone she reaches her little arms into the air trying to reach for it, trying to hold onto something she has already lost. I look up at Puck and he takes his hand and puts his thumb on my chin, I don't know if it's the day, or the balloons, or the fact I am holding our daughter, or even because I want him to more than anything but when he leans down to kiss me I let him. His lips are warm against mine and I kiss him back. Maybe it isn't so bad to be a little selfish every once and a while.


	11. Chapter 11

**Puck's POV**

_Three months later..._

"Apple, can you say apple?" I walk into the kitchen and find Quinn cutting up apples for Beth on her highchair, I smile at the sight of them, my two girls. Quinn has been trying to get her to talk more, trying to get her to say anything around her. Her doctor was worried that the trauma of loosing the other mother she has known since birth might delay her development, she seems to be doing fine developmentally and is even saying a few words and has been walking.

"Apple!" she sounds it out and says it pretty clear

"Yay! Yay Beth" Quinn starts clapping and praising her, I smile and go over and kiss Beth on the top of her head, I kiss Quinn on the cheek and she smiles up at me. Since our kiss a few months ago we have been more affectionate with each other, its not like we are dating but our old feelings have resurfaced, we are just taking things one day at a time. I laugh and sit down in the chair next to Quinn.

"Is apples all she ate for dinner?"

"She ate some macaroni, the rest is in the fridge"

"I'll tell Finn and Rachel to give her the rest if she gets hungry later"

"Okay, are they almost here?"

"Yeah, I just got off the phone with Finn. You ready?"

"Yes" She stands up and I can see the entirety of how amazing she looks. She is wearing a short length dress, one that cuts off slightly above the knee and her hair is in her natural curls. She notices my loss for words because she starts looking down at her dress "What? Do I have apple or something on my dress?" she starts wiping away the imaginary crumbs.

"No, there isn't anything on your dress"

"Then why are you staring at me like that?"

"You just look really beautiful" she smiles

"Thank you" She picks up Beth and takes her out of her highchair, she sets her down on the floor and Beth stands up and starts to walk. She is still a little wobbly and takes Quinn's hand to steady herself. They walk out to the living room and Beth starts to play with her toys and Quinn sits on the couch watching her. There is a knock at the door and Quinn gets up and answers it, Finn and Rachel come inside and we all greet each other. "Beth already ate some dinner, there is some more macaroni in the fridge if she gets hungry later and there are also some snacks she likes"

"Okay" Rachel answers and is smiling, she is sitting on the floor now and is playing with Beth.

"She should fall asleep before we get home, but if not that's okay, sometimes she needs one of us there" Finn is laughing now.

"We both have babysat before, don't worry she will be fine"

"Yes, you two go and have fun, you deserve a night out" I notice how Rachel winks at Quinn as we all stand up and gather by the door. I kiss Beth on the head and Quinn is blowing her kisses as she is walking out the door.

"I love you Beth" Quinn blows her one more kiss

"I love you" I say to Beth as I follow Quinn.

"Can you say bye to mommy and daddy" Rachel is whispering to Beth and starts waving to us goodbye, Beth soon joins in and Quinn looks very hesitant to leave. We walk out to the car and get in, I am driving us to the restaurant and I can't help but think of the last time Beth was left with a babysitter her mother didn't come home. I don't say this out loud but I try and drive safer than usual. We get to the restaurant and I park, we get out of the car and go in and are seated. We are seated in the back at a small and intimate table, it is a little noisy and Quinn has to lean in close to me so I can hear her, I feel like this is the whole point of the table.

"So what's the occasion? You told me to get dressed up because we were going to celebrate?"

"We are"

"What are we celebrating?"

"We are celebrating the fact that we can do this, that we have been doing this for months now. We are parent's now and we aren't sucking at it" she gives me a small laugh.

"We have been parents since you got me pregnant, but your right, we have been doing pretty good. Why tonight though?"

"Finn and Rachel were in town, I knew we couldn't celebrate just the two of us if we couldn't get a babysitter"

"I love her so much but I do admit it is nice to have a moment just the two of us, and one that doesn't revolve around diaper changes, or goldfish crackers, or the wiggles"

"Exactly! I mean what the hell is wrong with that show anyway? It isn't even that good but I'm sure those bastards are making bank with how hypnotizing it is to kids"

"See, we are 19 years old and already we are sucked into watching dumb shows with our children, we are real parents now, there is no going back anymore"

"Yeah, but it really isn't such a bad thing" she smiles at me and takes my hand into hers

"It most definitely isn't" We spend our evening having an actual adult conversation and it's nice, being around her is making all the memories of why I liked her back in high school come back to me. It wasn't that she was just the top bitch and I needed to make her mine, it was more than that. It was because she was funny, and smart, and if you got to know her you would know how deeply she cares for the people she loves. She still is all those qualities and more now, our daughter has brought that out in her. She is making me remember exactly why I loved her, and why it has been so hard to ever stop. We get in the car after our meal and I'm driving home when she smiles over at me.

"What?"

"That was our first real date"

"Really? I could have sworn I took you on a date before"

"Nope, we never went on an actual date before"

"Wow, I'm sorry. That's such a dick move, I mean I got you pregnant and I didn't even have the decency to do anything nice for you"

"Don't be so hard on yourself, you gave me the best thing anyone has ever given me, Beth" I pull into the driveway and I can see that the lights in the house are off, Beth must be asleep. I get out and open the car door for Quinn and wrap my arm around her waist as we walk up to the porch, we stand there and just look at each other, it feels like a real date now. I stand there and suddenly feel a little nervous. "This would be the part of the date when you kissed me goodnight" I smile and take my hand and rub my thumb across her cheek, I lean down and kiss her. She kisses my back eagerly and even after we both pull away I lean down and get a few more kisses in.

"And this would be when I would drop you off and let you go inside to your parents, trying to figure out a way to get through your window later on after your mom and dad went to bed"

"Lucky for you that you get to come in with me, besides were the only parents around here" she winks at me and then opens, I follow her inside and Finn and Rachel are snuggled up on the couch watching TV. They look up and see were back and they smile up at us.

"You were out late, how was your night?"

"It was good" Quinn smiles over at me and we share a look, about how we only know what just happened, how good the night really was.

"Where's Beth? Did she already fall asleep?" I look around to see if she fell asleep on the couch or the floor, it wouldn't be the first time she fell asleep while watching a movie.

"Yeah, I think she tried to stay up until you were here but she fell asleep after we put Nemo in for her"

"Is she in her crib?"

"Yeah, luckily she didn't wake up when we carried her to her room"

"Was she good?"

"Yeah, she was really good" I know Quinn is worried that she would cry or be anxious without us here, doctors said it could be a side effect of the traumatic change that happened, that she might had developed an attachment disorder, it is reassuring to see that nothing like that happened.

"Thank you guys so much for doing this"

"It was no problem, you two deserved the break" Rachel smiles at us and then hugs Quinn and I goodbye, Finn hugs Quinn and then me and they leave. Quinn goes into Beth's room and comes back out

"She is still sleeping"

"Do you think she is down for the night?"

"I hope so" she comes up to me and wraps her arms around my neck, she kisses me passionately and I lift her up and she wraps her legs around my waist. I carry her into the bedroom and lay her down on the bed, she smiles up at me starts to unzip her dress, I take off my shirt and I start to kiss her again. I remember the last time we were in this position, but I know that this time will be different, it has to be. I'm going to do it right this time, I won't screw it up.

Quinn snuggles up to me and wraps the sheet tighter around her body "Do you think she planned this?"

"Who?"

"Shelby, do you think she planned this to happen?"

"Us sleeping together?"

"Not that, I mean getting back together, raising our daughter together"

"Maybe, I mean I guess it must have crossed her mind when she planned us to be Beth's guardians"

"I still can't believe she didn't tell us, even contacting us about this would have been a nice heads up"

"It wouldn't have changed anything though, we still would have taken her, she is our daughter"

"I know, and she helped bring us back together" she reaches up and kisses me one more time and I wrap my arms around her tightly, she falls asleep and I kiss her head, she's right, Beth helped bring us back together and now I'm not letting either of them go, I love both of them, they are my family. They have always been my family.


	12. Chapter 12

**Quinn's POV**

I wake up with Puck's arms still wrapped around me, I turn and face him and can see that he is still sound asleep. I kiss his lips lightly and watch as he stirs, I do it again and watch as a smile spreads across his face. "Good morning"

"Morning" his voice is groggy with sleep and I kiss him one last time before getting up. "Where are you going?" He sits up slightly and I suddenly feel self conscious, I stand naked before him with the morning sunlight shining on me.

"I am going to go get our daughter up" I pick up Puck's shirt that lays on the floor and I put it on along with my underwear, I walk out of the room and make my way over to Beth's room. I find her wide awake in her crib, she smiles when she sees me. "Did you let us sleep?" She giggles as I pick her up. I take her out into the kitchen and start making breakfast for Beth, a short while later Puck comes out and kisses the top of my head. He sits down and starts to eat and I join them.

"Was she awake when you got her up?"

"Yeah, she was very good this morning and let us sleep" Puck tickles her the sound of her giggles fills the room.

"I've got to say, wearing my shirt makes you look incredibly sexy" I laugh

"It was the only thing I saw on the floor that I could trow on quickly, but thank you" I lean over to kiss him when there is a knock on the door, we both share a confused look "Who could that be?"

"I don't know, but I'll go check" Puck gets up and looks out the window as I wash Beth's face off from her breakfast. "Shit" I hear him mutter

"What?"

"It's the social worker" I stand up quickly and race over to the window to see for myself.

"Shit" There is another knock on the door and Puck shares the same look of terror that I have on my face.

"You need to go get dressed and I'll answer the door" I race to the bedroom and throw anything I can find on, after I am dressed in God knows what I speed back to the kitchen to clean up, I can hear Puck talking to her, trying to stall her as long as he can. "I didn't expect you here"

"Yes, that is exactly why it is a surprise visit. Is this a bad time?"

"No, this is a great time"

"Okay, can I come in?" I throw the rest of the dishes into the dishwasher and race over to the door with Beth in my arms.

"Yes, come right on in" She follows us inside and takes a seat on the couch, we both sit in the chairs across from her and I set Beth down on the floor the play. "Sorry for the mess"

"Oh no it's okay, I get it" She motions to Beth and I let out a nervous laugh, I can't help remembering what she kept telling us the last time she was here. The only rule and we managed to break it last night. "So, how have things been?"

"Great! So great"

"Yeah, Beth has been walking and talking, it's really been keeping us busy"

"And we have been taking her to lots of different places, we all have been having fun" I smile over at Puck and he looks back at me with a loving gaze. In high school I may have regretted it but I couldn't imagine having a baby with anyone else, I couldn't imagine loving anyone else but him.

"Oh my God, you two had sex" I snap out of it and focus my attention back to her, was it really that obvious?

"What?"

"No we didn't" We both try to cover up what we did, deny that anything happened between us when it so clearly did.

"Yes you did, it's written all over your faces"

"Okay fine, yes we did, but that is no way will effect our ability to be parents to Beth"

"It better not, that little girl needs you two most right now, no matter what is going on in your personal lives you just need to push all that crap aside and give all your attention to her"

"We both just want what is best for Beth, we have been working really well together and we will not let this change anything in regards to her" I look back at Puck to let him know that I mean it, I love him but I love Beth more and I don't want to jeopardize her stability, but I also want to let him know that what happened between us means something.

"I couldn't let that happen, I love her too much"

"Okay, it's good to know you are both on the same page with that but all I can say is either get your crap together and get married or forget anything ever happened because it will not be good if you two have a messy breakup, she can't be getting in this middle of all your problems"

"We won't let that happen"

"I'll be back one more time before you two legally adopt her, when I come here next I want to see that everything is figured out between the two of you"

"Okay" She walks out the door and it leaves me feeling exhausted, Puck stands by the door longer than needed and I already know her comment about marriage freaked him out.

"Puck, I think we should talk" My voice travels through the house, he walks over to me and I prepare for him to tell me last night was a mistake, that he isn't ready to get married and we should just pretend it didn't happen.

"Quinn..."

"No, it's okay. I already know what you are going to say"

"No you don't"

"Just please don't make me have to hear it"

"Quinn will you just let me talk" he laughs, why would he be laughing at a time like this? "I close my mouth and still brace for the worst. "I don't want to forget what happened, I love you and I love Beth and I want us to be a family" he gets down on one knee.

"Oh my God, Puck"

"Let me finish"

"Don't, I don't want to get married, I mean at least not for now"

"And neither do I, I just want to make a promise to you, both of you right here right now. So Lucy Quinn Fabray, will you let me propose to you again when the time is right and when I have a real ring? Will you marry me someday? And will you raise our daughter with me?"

"I thought you would never ask" He laughs and stands up and takes my face into his hands kissing me.

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes" I kiss him again. "I never thought you would eventually want to get married"

"Of course I do, I mean we have a life together now and I never thought of marrying anyone besides you"

"So is this a proposal for an engagement"

"Basically, we don't have to get married now but I hope we get married before this little monkey turns five"

"Okay, so we are really going to do this someday"

"I wouldn't want it any other way" He kisses me one more time and I don't worry at all, right now I have everything I could ever need, a future fiancee and our daughter.


	13. Chapter 13

**Quinn's POV**

I tie Beth's little pink bow around her middle as Santana zips up her dress. I turn her around and take a look at her, she wears the cute little pink flower girl dress that Rachel picked out when she asked if Beth would be the flower girl in her's and Finn's wedding. "Thank you for the help"

"Yeah, no problem" Santana smiles at me and then stands up, she is wearing the same pink dress I am wearing as one of the bridesmaids for Rachel. I take Beth into my lap and start to fix her hair. "Has everything been going okay?" While me and Santana have had our differences in the past, especially when it came to my pregnancy but I know that she has seen me raising my daughter and I can tell she has found some new respect for me.

"Yeah, things have been really good" Ever since meeting with our social worker we have kinda gotten into the role of dating, things aren't super official but we are already raising our daughter together so we are more official than most people who are dating already. "Things with Puck have been good too, he's really stepped up"

"I wouldn't have thought that Puck would be the father type, I mean obviously he can get people knocked up but I didn't think he could really step up when the time came"

"I'll admit I was surprised too but he's really been such a great father to Beth"

"Well, I'm really happy for you two" She gives me a sincere smile and I know that the two of us can put our past behind us, I mean me and Rachel did, I mean now I am a bridesmaid at her wedding to her soulmate. I finish Beth's hair and pick her up as Rachel walks in in her beautiful white wedding dress. Mercedes and Tina and Brittany follow Santana as they crowd around Rachel to admire her dress, her hair is curled and done up with a few strands falling in front of her face. I pick up her boutique of flowers and hand them to Rachel.

"You look really beautiful"

"Thank you Quinn, and Beth looks adorable in that flower girl's dress"

"Beth, tell aunt Rachel how pretty she looks" Beth just smiles and claps her hands.

"Are you ready to walk down the isle Rach?" Santana starts passing out everyone's flowers and I set Beth down and give her the basket full of flower petals. Rachel's dad's come in and get ready to walk her down the isle, we all line up and it starts with Tina walking down, followed by Mercedes, and then Brittany and Santana. I tell Beth she needs to walk behind me and I start my way down the isle. I see Puck standing next to Finn as his best man and I can't help but think about the last time Finn and Rachel were going to get married, it was canceled after my car accident. It was one of the worst experiences of my life, I was lucky to get out of it alive, and eventually walk again. I get to the end of the isle and watch as Beth makes her way down the isle, I make the motion of throwing the petals to remind her what to do and she takes her little fingers and makes a tiny fist and throws the little fistful of flowers along the isle as she walks. I turn to look at Puck's face as he watches his daughter, his whole face is in a smile and it's full of pure joy, he couldn't be any happier. As Beth makes her way down the isle she runs up to me and hugs my legs, everyone laughs and then everyone stands for Rachel. She walks down the isle with one of her dad's on either side of her and she steals everyone's gaze. I look to Finn and see how happy he looks, he even seems to tear up a bit at the sight of his bride to be. We all watch as they make their vows and share their love with all their close friends and family, and as they walk down the isle hand in hand, now husband and wife, I know that they were always meant to be together. It was never supposed to be me and Finn, it was always supposed to be Finn and Rachel and Puck, Beth and me.

Puck holds me close as we slow dance to the music, Finn and Rachel just finished their first dance as husband and wife and opened up the dance floor for all the couples, Sam and Mercedes dance a few feet away from us and Brittany and Santana are dancing close a little farther down the dance floor. I look over at Finn and Rachel who are going around talking to various members of their families, they look so happy together, it makes me really happy. Puck pulls me a little closer and kisses my neck, I feel like I could get lost in this moment with him, just then Beth runs over and grabs onto Puck's legs giggling. "Hey baby" Puck picks her up and she wraps her arms around his neck.

"Do you want to dance with daddy?" She nods her head and I kiss her cheek and then Puck kisses my lips. "Don't let her get too handsy, tell her your already taken" I tease.

"I'm not sure, this one looks a little feisty" Beth giggles and Puck spins around with her in his arms. I go and get a drink and sit down, Rachel comes over and sits down next to me, I turn to her and give her a big hug.

"Congratulations again"

"Thank you!"

"We are both really happy for you, it was a great ceremony and everyone could tell how in love you two are"

"I've waited four years to marry him, and now I finally have, it's a really good feeling" She has the biggest smile on her face as she watches Finn who is across the room, she looks at him the way I know I look at Puck, at Beth. "How are things going with you two?"

"Really good, we both are committed to each other and most importantly committed to Beth"

"Any wedding bells in your future, or a sibling for Beth?" She laughs from the look I must show on my face, just the thought of having another kid anytime soon kind of freaks me out.

"We both aren't interested in getting married right now but he wants to propose sometime in the future he told me, and I want to be in my twenties before I have another kid"

"Well hopefully this will be the first of many glee club weddings, maybe yours and Puck's will be next"

"My money is on Kurt and Blaine, there really isn't anything that could come between Puck and I, we are already more married than some people, I mean we are raising our child together"

"Yeah, well I am really glad things are finally working out for you two, I always wanted you two to end up together. I know this might not be what you want to hear but you two helped me and Finn get together and I am going to always be so grateful for that, you two just always seemed to be like you were meant to end up together"

"Yeah, it's hard to imagine being with anyone else after going through what me and Puck did, it wasn't an easy decision to put Beth up for adoption but nothing has felt more right than being her mother, I thought raising her myself wasn't the right decision but now I know that it was always supposed to be me and Puck doing it together"

"I know what you mean" I follow Rachel's gaze to find Finn and Puck walking over to us, Finn is now holding Beth and I can already see Rachel's mind working, she is already imaging her new husband being a father to their future children.

"I found this adorable little girl running around and I was wondering who she belonged to?" Finn teases and hands Beth to Rachel.

"She's just so cute I think we should keep her Finn" Beth starts to laugh.

"Is aunt Rachel being silly?"

"Yes!" Beth is always so excited when she speaks, she knows the words apple, giraffe, cup, yes, and no. She hasn't called Puck or us mommy or daddy yet but it should be coming soon. I always refer to Puck as her dad but that's because she hasn't known any other dad in her life, she did previously have someone she used to call mom, I don't know if she will just know me as Quinn, or mom but I can only wait to see what she decides. Rachel kisses Beth's cheek and then hands her back to me, Finn gives her his hand and she stands up and he wraps his arms around her.

"Finn I want one" This earns a laugh from him.

"One thing at a time Rach, we just got married" She playfully hits Finn and then turns back to us.

"Well I hope you two have a great time, in case you might leave early because you need to get Beth to bed just know we are so happy you are here and that we are glad you spent this amazing day with us" Rachel pulls me into a hug and then I hug Finn.

"It really was an amazing wedding"

"Yeah, I'm really happy for you man" Puck pulls Finn into a hug and then Finn takes Rachel's hand and they walk together to go enjoy their wedding. We stay another hour and a half to watch them cut the cake but eventually Beth has fallen asleep on the chairs at our table and we decide it's probably time to take her home. Puck takes her into his arms and we say our goodbyes and then get into the car and make our way home. Puck pulls into the driveway and gets Beth out of the car, she is still asleep and we want to keep it that way so we try to be as quiet as we can when walking inside. "I'm going to put her in her crib"

"Okay, I'm going to check the machine for any messages"

"Okay" He leans down and kisses me as if it is the most natural thing in the world, lately it's felt like that. I go over to the answering machine and see that we have one message, with everything going on with Beth's adoption process and the social worker it's very important to still have an answering machine and to always check the messages. I press play and listen to the message.

"Hi, this is Kevin from the Air Force Enlistment program, we are looking for Noah Puckerman. We have received your form and it has been approved, we have talked over the phone before and you have explained your situation and we will need you back in California in the next few weeks to have you begin your training, call me back as soon as you can" The message ends and I am left standing there, feeling completely blindsided. I can't believe this us how this is how I am finding out about this, I can't believe that he didn't tell me.

"I just put her down, she should be out for the night" He walks into the room and looks at my face and stops. "What's wrong?" I press play again on the machine and lets the message run again. For the next minute it is the only sound that fills the kitchen. When it finishes I can see his face fall. "Quinn, just let me explain"

"Explain what? How you were going to leave me and your daughter behind while you go off and join the air force? Something that I can't even remember you having talked about once before to me"

"I wasn't going to leave you guys"

"Really? So you just planned to take us all to California? Was that before or after I decided if I wanted to go back to school or not. Don't for a second pretend that you thought of us once"

"Don't you understand, this is why I am doing this. I knew that we couldn't go back to California and that I couldn't support my family with just my pool cleaning business, I wanted a good life for our daughter, I wanted to take care of both of you"

"Don't you think I wanted to go back to Yale, get back on track with the life that I had imagined for myself as soon as I got accepted?"

"You knew what life you were going to get when you decided when you decided to have her when we were 16 years old, and you knew what you were doing when you agreed to take care of her"

"Yeah, to take care of her with you. You agreed to this too"

"I did it for Beth!" We are both yelling now.

"So you were just pretending the whole time then? Is that it?"

"You know I would never do that, I love her" His words cut me deeper than I ever thought they possibly could.

"So you were just pretending with me then? I get it"

"Quinn... That isn't what I meant" I can already feel the tears coming.

"Why don't you just go, get an early start on your way to California"

"Quinn this isn't how I wanted you to find out okay? I didn't want to leave you guys"

"You better believe that you already made your decision to leave when you applied, for whatever reason you choose this, but know you didn't choose me and Beth"

"Don't ever say that, she is my daughter and I will always be there for her"

"Why don't you just leave"

"Quinn come on"

"I said leave!" I scream at him. He looks actually hurt. I can hear Beth crying from her room. "You woke her up, I want you to be gone by time I get her back to sleep, I don't want her to know you left like this" I don't even give him the chance to respond because I am in her room and am picking her up as I hear Puck in the next room getting together some of his stuff. I rock her back and forth and get her to stop crying when I hear the front door slam. As selfish as I am for not wanting to be alone I take her into the bedroom that Puck and I had been sharing for the past few months and lay her down on the bed. I pick up one of her picture books from the nightstand and realize now how bad I have been crying because the cover is all blurry to me. I wipe away the tears and begin to read to her. I am holding her in my arms and am reading when I just stop and look down at her, she smiles up at me, so oblivious to the fact that the two people in her life that are supposed to take care of her can't even get their shit together and make it work. She surprises me and starts to mumble the word I have selfishly always wanted to hear from her.

"Mamma" I am in utter disbelief, I don't know how to respond. I don't know if to correct her or reassure her that she is right. Technically she is right, I am biologically her mother, I carried her around in my belly for 9 months, but I haven't been the one who has raised her from birth, I just recently filled the position a few months ago. "Mamma" She repeats it again and this time I decide to give in, I am her mom, and now I always will be.

"Yeah, that's right. I am you mama" I kiss her head and know that from now on it will just be the two of us. Beth and her mamma.


	14. Chapter 14

**Three months later**

**Puck's POV**

I step off the plane and make my way to baggage claim, people look at me as I pass, they look at the uniform. I go and grab my bag and turn my phone back on, I look at my messages and find the last text I got from Rachel that includes the address to their house they just got together in New York. I look at the address one last time and then pick up my keys from the rental car, I grab them and get into the car and make my way to their place. It is Easter, their first holiday as a married couple and they wanted to get all of us together. I feel the nerves as I get closer and closer, this will be the first time seeing my daughter in a few months, and Quinn. I pull up to the house and find the driveway full with cars and I park in the street. I walk up to the door and ring the doorbell, Rachel answers and pulls me into a tight hug. "Puck! I'm so glad you could make it, and you look so nice in that uniform"

"Thanks Rach"

"Well come on in" She gives me a smile and I walk into the house, I look around and find all my friends, Mercedes and Sam are talking with Brittany and Santana, while Kurt and Blaine and Tina stand by a snack table, I can see Artie and Mike and Finn standing around, I see everyone. Everyone except for Quinn. Suddenly I see Beth's curly blond head come from around the corner, she has her hair in little pig tails that are tied with pink ribbons and she is wearing a flowery dress.

"Daddy!" She yells, I bend down and she runs into my arms. I hug her tight and feel her little hands wrap around my neck. I pull her away from me and take a look at how much bigger she looks. Her hair is a little longer and she seems taller.

"Look at how big you got monkey face"

"A lot can change in three months" I look to find Quinn standing a few feet away from me, she is wearing a tight fit blue dress and looks amazing.

"Hey"

"Hey" Beth reaches out for her mom and Quinn comes closer and takes her into her arms.

"How have you been?"

"Things have been good, how have you been?"

"Good, training was good, I'm done with it now" I wanted to save this for later, to tell her that I'm ready to come back to her, to Beth. Come home. She looks at me, then at my uniform. I know she might resent me for deciding to do this, to leave her to go train for the Air Force but I hope she can at least appreciate that I am here now, being here for the important stuff.

"Nice uniform, looks a little itchy though" I go to open my mouth when she laughs,"I'm kidding, you look handsome" I give her a smile, it's a good sign that she is giving me compliments, this may be heading in the right direction.

"Thanks"

"I'm glad your here"

"I'm glad to be here"

"Hopefully this will give us some time to talk" I nod in agreement.

"I actually really wanted to talk to you too"

"I'm just going to give her to Rachel and I'll meet you in the kitchen. I heard aunt Rachel told the Easter Bunny you would be visiting and he hid some eggs for you to go find" Beth's face lights up as the walk away, I hate knowing I have missed that smile everyday for three months. Being away from my daughter again has probably been the hardest thing I have done. I go over to the snack table and try to find something to eat.

"Damn Puckerman, nice uniform" I look over to find Santana standing next to me, Brittany has her arms around Santana's middle but they stand as if it is the most natural thing in the world. Even though Santana and I used to be a thing a long long time ago I am really happy she has Britt, she is definitely happier when she is around.

"Thanks"

"Quinn told us that you had joined the Air Force, I didn't know you had it in you"

"Thanks I think" I laugh.

"Too bad for you and Quinn though, I was rooting for you two" Brittany nods her head in agreement.

"Well I wouldn't say things are completely over, we still have Beth and are planning on raising her together"

"I don't know, once the house is sold it usually means the marriage is over, or in this case your relationship"

"What are you talking about?" I look at both of them with confusion, why would they mention the house being sold?

"You know, Quinn is selling your house so she can move back to Yale" Brittany doesn't usually know whats going on but right now I think what she is saying is completely true, that must be what Quinn wanted to talk about. I walk into the kitchen and find Quinn standing there looking out the window into the backyard. She hears the door close behind me and she turns around with a huge smile on her face.

"Look at Beth out there, she is having so much fun, I took some pictures but I am just dying to be out there with them. I can tell Rachel really appreciates the practice of taking care of a child"

"Your selling the house? When were you planning on telling me?" I didn't mean for it to sound so rude but it just came out like that.

"I was going to tell you today, I told you I thought we should talk"

"Yeah, I thought you meant talk about us"

"Puck don't you get it, there is no us anymore" Her words sting.

"Well how long have you had this plan to sell the house and go back to Yale? How long did you plan to keep this a secret?"

"Don't you dare start with secrets, you kept something huge from me for months and never told me until you were forced too. And besides I only decided this three months ago when you left. That's the difference between you and me, I never meant to abandon our family"

"You know I didn't have a choice, this was something that I was obligated to go too"

"And you don't think I don't have an obligation to the school that I applied for? The one that accepted me? And have been generous enough to allow me to go back in the fall after taking a year break. I need to finish college so I can get a degree and make a better life for Beth, isn't that exactly what you argued that you were doing?"

"That's different, I never planned on uprooting her completely, why the sudden need to sell the house?"

"Because it is just too big for only two people living in it"

"Three, I still live there"

"Not when you decided to leave, the only reason we were going to keep that house was so she could keep as much stability in her life as possible but you threw that out the window when you decided to leave us behind"

"She is still my daughter, I still want to be in her life"

"And you can, but I want you to know I plan on adopting her myself, without you"

"What? You can't do this"

"It's actually easier, we no longer live together and aren't in a relationship and she will be living with me, it makes the most sense. I'm not going to keep her from you but we can make a schedule of when you can have visitation"

"Quinn do you hear how crazy you sound? Shelby pulled this shit with us and it drove you crazy, I am still very committed and want to raise our daughter with you. Don't you get it, I love you"

"That wasn't enough to make you stay, I won't let you make the same empty promises to Beth that you made to me"

"It wasn't an empty promise, I still love you, I'm still in love with you" I move closer to her and take her face into my hands. "Please"

"It isn't enough anymore" I lean down and kiss her lips, she kisses me back and I hope this can show her, show her I still care. She pulls away from me and walks over to the door. "You can come back to the house and get your things later, I can't move out of the state until all the finals papers are signed and I get the last visit from the social worker so until then you will know where to find us. You can come visit anytime you want, she misses you" She walks out of the kitchen and I am left in the kitchen alone, I have somehow managed to loose the two people in my life who mean the most to me, and it seems like now there is nothing I can do to fix it anymore.


	15. Chapter 15

**Quinn's POV**

I hold Beth close to me as we hear Puck gathering all the rest of his things from the bedroom, he comes out of the room with a bag slung over his shoulder. "I got the rest of my stuff"

"Okay" I don't look up at him, I can't, it's too hard. I look at Beth and brush some of the hair out of her eyes, anything just to avoid watching the man I love walk away again. He walks over to us and Beth lifts her arms up for him to pick her up, she doesn't know what's going on but it still breaks my heart. I hand her to him and stand up, I watch him kiss her cheek, he tells her that he loves her.

"When will the social worker be here?"

"In an hour, it's the last appointment I have with her before the adoption can be finalized"

"You still sure about adopting her on your own?" I decided it would be best for Beth not to get mixed up in all this, I can work out a custody agreement with Puck later, right now she just needs to officially be in my care before we have to decide how much time she will spend with her dad. I would never tell him he can't see her, but she needs stability in her life and he has shown that he can't provide that.

"It's what's best for her" I look up at him, I really look at him this time and I feel such sadness crash over me. He sets down Beth and steps closer to me.

"It doesn't have to be like this, I am just as committed to being her father as I was on day one"

"That was before you left, how can I know that you won't just leave again?"

"Because my training is now over, I can come back to Ohio now. I only needed to train there because it's where I signed up"

"But you didn't even tell me, that's the problem. You didn't once think to bring it up in all the time we have been living together, raising our daughter"

"I can't tell you how sorry I am for that, this will never happen again"

"But that's just the thing, this is the same old Puck, not able to stay in the same place for too long"

"That was the old me, I promise you that I can and will stay here with you guys, I love you Quinn. I have always loved you and Beth" He now is standing so close to me, he takes his hand and puts it on my face. "Quinn, please"

"Puck" He leans in a kisses me, I wrap my arms around his neck and deepen the kiss. I don't want to admit that I am enjoying this but I am less willing to admit that I don't want this to end. He pulls away and I feel breathless, I want to lean in again but he has already moved away. He pulls out a paper and sets it down on the kitchen table.

"This is all my flight information, you just say the words and I won't go, and if not then you will know where to find me" He waits for a second but when I can't find any words to say he walks over and gives Beth one more quick hug, then he picks up the bag from the floor and walks out the door for the second time, and something in my heart is telling me that it's probably the last.

I open up the door and find Mrs. Groff standing there, she smiles at me and I let her inside. "It's nice to see you again Lucy"

"Nice to see you too"

"Where is Noah?"

"Oh, he isn't really in the picture anymore. We just couldn't make everything work and it's best for Beth if we just weren't together"

"Well I'm glad you too my advice with figuring your shit out. The worst thing for a recently orphaned child to be in the middle of dysfunction"

"I completely agree, please sit down" I sit down and she sits across from me.

"So do you have plans to adopt her together and split the custody?"

"I was more thinking about adopting her myself and having an out of court agreement with him"

"That's one way to do it, you don't have to make any decisions right now"

"Okay"

"Well this is supposed to be my last visit and I want to tell you that I am very confident that you are going to be a great mother"

"Thank you"

"And I really want to tell you that I hope things work out the best for you with Noah, I could tell that he loves his daughter and you two were such a great team"

"Yeah" I can't help but smile, just thinking about the time I had with Puck makes me so happy. I stand up and pick Beth up. "I'm sorry, I just can't do this"

"What?"

"I am about to let the only guy who has actually loved me go, I can't do that. I am really sorry to inconvenience you but I think we need to reschedule"

"I don't think that's possible" I put on Beth's coat and her shoes. "What are you doing?"

"I have to go to the airport, I have to stop Puck" I run over to the table and grab the flight information.

"Then I'm coming with you, I don't have my next appointment for a few hours and now I'm pretty curious about how this is going to end"

"Okay well we have to hurry" I grab Beth and Mrs. Groff follows us through the door, I strap Beth into her car seat and get into the front seat. I start the car and back out of the driveway.

"What time is the flight?"

"2:40"

"Well it's 2:00 now so if you don't want to miss him then hurry up"

"But your watching me"

"Well I'm going to be watching you miss the flight"

"Okay" I speed up and keep my eyes on the road but I keep making glances at the clock. We pull into the guest parking at the airport and I unbuckle Beth and the three of us rush inside the airport. I go to the information desk and find out where the plane will be flying out of and rush to buy a ticket so we can go through security. I get to the security check and start to take off my shoes and jacket.

"Ma'me you are going to have to remove the baby's shoes as well"

"Okay" I start to take off her shoes when I see Mrs. Groff getting upset.

"Are you serious? They are baby shoes. She is trying to get to the person she loves and she is going to miss the flight"

"Just calm down, it will be okay"

"Here, I'll take her, you just get there" I kiss Beth's head and then run through the airport to try and find him. I look all around and don't see him. I check the time on my phone and it reads 2:45, it's too late, he's gone. I see Mrs. Groff run through the airport holding Beth.

"Did you find him?"

"No, he's gone, the plane already took off"

"Oh, I'm so sorry" I take Beth from her and hold her close to me.

"It's okay"

"If only we could have gotten though the airport quicker"

"No it's alright, I knew there was a chance that we wouldn't make it on time" I sit down in one of the chairs and put Beth's shoes back on, I try not to cry, not in front of her, I'm all she has now.

The drive back home is quiet, I don't think she really knows what to say to me. I park and get out of the car, she comes over to me and I can see that she's crying now. "There is no need to cry, we did everything that we could do"

"I know, but I just could have tried harder"

"You did everything you could" I give her a hug and when she pulls away she wipes her tears.

"Well I just know you will be such a good mom, call me if you ever need anything"

"I will"

"And I am going to approve you guys, just in case you decide to raise her with Noah"

"Thank you, but I think he's gone for good" I take Beth inside and I set her down next to her toys. I go into the kitchen and try and hide my crying from my daughter, I don't want her to see my cry.

"I couldn't do it" I look up and find Puck sitting there at the kitchen table, his bag is at his feet and his face softens when he sees that I'm crying. "Oh my god, why are you crying?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't get on the plane, I couldn't leave you guys behind. I came back to the house but you guys were gone, I thought you had that meeting today?"

"I did, but we went after you"

"You came to the airport for me?"

"Yes, I couldn't let you leave again. Puck, I love you" I don't wait for him to finish before I kiss him, I've wanted to do this for so long, I've wanted to be with him for so long. When we break apart I smile at him.

"I love you too"

"So we're really going to do this? This is for real this time?"

"Yes, I really want to do this, Quinn I have always loved you and I want to raise our daughter with you"

"Then stay, and don't ever go again"

"I promise you, I won't" I kiss him again and know that this is real, I have always loved Puck and now I know that I'm not going loose him again. I have the love of my life and Beth has her father.


	16. Epilogue

**Two months later**

**Quinn's POV**

I open up the birthday cake box and admire how cute it looks. "The cake really came out nicely" Puck comes up from behind me and kisses my cheek.

"It really did" I agree with him. I turn around and kiss him quickly, I feel Beth's little hands on my legs. I pick her up and kiss her cheek. "There's the birthday girl" Beth claps her hands and Puck kisses her head.

"Happy birthday princess" Beth blows him kisses and I set her down.

"Why don't you go find your aunt Rachel" Beth runs out of the kitchen and I watch her run up to Rachel and Finn. We went all out with her birthday this year, it's her second birthday and the first one she is sharing with us. We invited all our friends, they were so excited when we both decided to stay in Ohio. Yale was my dream, it was my teenage dream, but when I had a baby I had to grow up and be the mother she needs. I do plan on getting my degree one day, maybe when Beth is a little older and things have settled down more. Things with me and Puck have been great, we were able to work through all our problems and realize that at the end of the day it's all for our daughter, we just love her so much and thanks to her we realized that we sill love each other. He even proved to me that he is in it for the long haul by buying me an engagement ring, we don't plan on getting married anytime soon but it's his way of showing he really meant it when he said Beth and me are all he could ever need.

"I have a surprise for you" I turn to find him holding a small cake that has a 1 on it. I let out a laugh.

"What is that? You know our daughter is 2"

"I know, but this is for us"

"What?"

"It's a 1 because it's to celebrate that we made it one year"

"We did, didn't we?

"We did. We have been parents for a year" He comes over to me and I wrap my arms around him, I have finally gotten what I have always wanted, someone who loves me for who I really am.

"Well it's time to let Beth blow out her birthday candles" I light the two candles on the birthday cake and bring it over to the table. Beth is sitting up in her chair and Finn and Rachel are standing around her, Santana and Brittany and Sam and Mercedes and Tina and Artie are standing around the table, ready to sing happy birthday to our little girl. I smile as I watch everyone standing around in this room, all my friends are here, I have an amazing fiancee who is also the father of our child, I have everything I could have wanted. When I got pregnant when I was 16 I thought my life was over, but I was so wrong. I didn't loose anything, I only gained the best thing that ever happened to me, I wouldn't want it any other way.

**Authors note- Hey guys! I am finally finished with this fanfic, I really hope you enjoyed this because I really had such a great time writing it and I hope you like how it ended, I love you all and I hope if you like other glee ships like Finchel then you could check out one of my finchel fanfics, called "The Vow" and "Resurrection" or if you like Hunger Games or Vampire Diaries or Law and Order SVU then you should check out one of my other fanfics. I want to thank all of you for continuing to read this and for leaving reviews and following this, I love you all and until next time-Izzy **


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